SURVIVE

Disaster Ready

Emergency contacts, go-bag checklist, family plan, and your rights after a disaster.

This page works offline. Once you've loaded it, it's cached on your phone. If the power goes out and cell towers go down, this page and its contacts are still here.

Emergency Numbers

Police / Fire / Medical911 FEMA Disaster Assistance1-800-621-3362 Poison Control1-800-222-1222 Red Cross1-800-733-2767 National Suicide Prevention988 Domestic Violence Hotline1-800-799-7233 SAMHSA Disaster Helpline1-800-985-4990
🎒 Go Bag
📋 Family Plan
⚡ During
📝 After

72-Hour Go Bag

Pack this before you need it. One bag per person. Store it where you can grab it in 60 seconds.

□ Water — 1 gallon per person per day (3 days)
□ Food — 3 days nonperishable (granola bars, canned food, peanut butter)
□ Manual can opener
□ Flashlight + extra batteries
□ Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (AM/FM)
□ Phone charger — portable battery bank (charged)
□ First aid kit
□ Medications — 7-day supply of all prescriptions
□ Copies of important documents in waterproof bag (ID, insurance, lease, prescriptions)
□ Cash — small bills ($200 minimum, ATMs may be down)
□ Change of clothes + sturdy shoes
□ Blanket or sleeping bag
□ Whistle (to signal for help)
□ Dust masks (N95 if available)
□ Plastic sheeting + duct tape
□ Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)
□ Baby supplies if needed (formula, diapers, bottles)
□ Pet supplies if needed (food, leash, carrier, medications)
□ Written list of emergency contacts (phones may be dead)

Family Communication Plan

When phones go down, you need a plan everyone already knows. Fill this out now and give a copy to every family member.

1 Meeting point #1: A place near home (e.g., the big tree on the corner, the church parking lot)
2 Meeting point #2: A place outside your neighborhood (in case you can't get home)
3 Out-of-state contact: One person everyone calls. Long-distance calls often work when local ones don't.
4 Text first: Texts use less bandwidth than calls. In a disaster, text before calling.
5 School pickup plan: Know your school's disaster release policy. Designate who picks up the kids if you can't.
6 Utilities: Everyone over 12 should know how to turn off gas, water, and electricity.
7 Write it down: Print this plan. Put one copy in the go bag, one on the fridge, one in each car.

During an Emergency

⚡ Power outage: Unplug appliances to prevent surge damage when power returns. Keep fridge and freezer doors closed (food stays safe 4 hours in closed fridge, 48 hours in full freezer).
🌊 Flooding: Never walk or drive through flood water. 6 inches knocks you down. 12 inches moves a car. Turn off gas if you smell it. Get to higher ground.
🌪️ Tornado: Go to basement or lowest interior room. Stay away from windows. Get under heavy furniture. If driving, get out of the car and lie flat in a ditch.
🔥 Fire/wildfire: Get out. Close doors behind you. If clothes catch fire: stop, drop, roll. If smoke: crawl low. Never go back inside. Meet at your designated meeting point.
❄️ Extreme cold: Signs of hypothermia: shivering, confusion, slurred speech. Warm the person slowly. Call 911. Never use a gas stove or oven for heating.
🌡️ Extreme heat: Signs of heat stroke: hot dry skin, confusion, loss of consciousness. Call 911. Cool the person with water. Check on elderly neighbors.
Normal:

Emergency services respond. Hospitals treat the injured. Power companies restore electricity. Government coordinates relief.

Broken:

In Maui 2023, 80 sirens were never activated. In Hurricane Helene 2024, 74% of NC cell towers went down and survivors waited 4 months for FEMA callbacks. Communication infrastructure fails first. Government response is always slower than the crisis.

Fix:

Your preparation IS the fix. The go bag, the family plan, the radio, the cash, the written contacts — these work when everything else doesn't. Check on your neighbors. Communities that organize before disasters survive them better.

After a Disaster — Your Rights

✓ FEMA assistance: Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. You have 60 days from the disaster declaration. FEMA provides temporary housing, home repair, and other needs assistance. You do NOT need to be a citizen to receive emergency assistance.
✓ Insurance: File your claim immediately. Document everything with photos before cleaning up. Your insurer must respond within a reasonable time. If denied, you can appeal. Keep every receipt.
✓ Contractor fraud: After disasters, unlicensed contractors go door-to-door. Never pay upfront in full. Get written estimates. Verify licenses. Don't sign anything under pressure.
✓ Landlord obligations: If your rental is uninhabitable, most states allow lease termination. Your landlord cannot charge rent for an uninhabitable unit. Document the damage.
✓ SBA disaster loans: Low-interest loans for homes and businesses. Apply through DisasterAssistance.gov. You don't have to accept the loan — applying gives you access to other programs.
✓ Mental health: SAMHSA Disaster Helpline: 1-800-985-4990. Free, 24/7, confidential. Supports English and Spanish. Trauma reactions are normal. Ask for help.

This tool provides general information, not legal, medical, or financial advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation. This tool does not collect or store identifying data. Esta herramienta proporciona información general, no asesoramiento legal, médico o financiero. Consulta a un profesional para tu situación específica. Esta herramienta no recopila ni almacena datos identificativos.